Seed-cleaning mechanism.



,R- A. LITTLE.

SEED CLEANING MBGHANISM. APPLIATION FILED MAY 11, 1905. RENEWED MAY i6, 1907.

-PATENTED SEPT. 24, 1907.

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PATENTEDSEPT. 24. 1907. R. A. LITTLE.

VSEB-D CLEANING MBGHANISM. APPLIcATIon rILnn MAY 11. laos. nrmwnn MAY 1s. 1907.

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PATENTED SEPT. 24, 1907.

l R.`A. L1TTLE. sEn GLEANING McHANlsM. APPLICATION FILED MAY 11, 1905. RENEWED MAIN, 1907.

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R. A. LITTLE. f SEED CLEANING MBGHANIS'M.

. APPLICATION PILD MAY 11, 1905. B-ENEWED IIEAY 16I 1907. n

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

ROBERT A. LITTLE, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FIFTH TO ELMER T. ANSON AND ONE-FIFTH TO CHARLES L. ANSON, OF LOCKPORT, NEW YORK, AND ONE- FIFTH TO EMMA TAFT AND ONE-FIFTH TO ARTHUR F. KRAFT, OF BUFFALONEW YORK.

SEED-CLEANING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 24, 1907.

Application tiled May 11, 1905, Serial No. 259,928. Renewed May 16, 1907. Serial No. 373,982.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT A. LITTLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Seed-Cleaning Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such l as will enable others skilled in the art to which it app ertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in seed cleaning mechanism and more particularly to that typeof machine which is specially designed for separating foreign matter from beans, peas, &c.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved construction which will separate the pods, dirt, iiat stones and fiat or split beans.

To that end my invention consists ofcertain details of construction, all of which will be'fully hereinafter described andclaimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a central vertical longitudinal section of the machine. Fig. 2 is a side eleva tion, and Fig. 3 is a top plan view of such machine. Fig. 4 is a agmentary detail of theendless carrier and its attachments, and Figs. 5 and 6 are detached details of the raising and lowering devices for the endless carrier.

Referring to the drawings, 1, 1, l1, are short corner posts, 2 is a long corner post and 3 is a long intermediate post, forming the main supporting frame of the machine.

4 is a housing in the front of the machine, mounted upon the posts 2 and 3, at their upper ends. In the top of this housing is mounted the hopper 5, communicating with such housing through the longitudinal opening 6. Immediately below this opening is the roller 7, provided With the spaced circumferentialA grooves 8. This roller 7 is mounted on the shaft 9, journaled in the housing 4. The grooves 8 in the roller 7 are of sufficient depth to receive from the hopper a line of beans and carry them uninjured through'the opening 6, thus forming an automatic continuous feed for the beans. This automatic grooved feed roller 7, besides preventing injury to the beans, additionally serves to regulate the quantity 0f beans fed out of the hopper. In this manner, only enough beans to be effectively handled are permitted to pass through the machine.

Upon-the shafts 10 and 11, journaled in the housing 4, are mounted the impinging rollers12 and 13, whichv pulleys on the main shaft 16. The short sprocket-chain 17 passing over the sprocket-wheels 18-and 19 on the shaft l0 of the roller 12 and the shaft 9 on the grooved roller 7, impart to such roller 7 a rotary motion to enable the grooves 8 to successively and continuously feed the beans to the rubber rollers. These rollers 12 and 13 are preferably formed of rubber of a sufficient degree of elasticity to permit the beans to pass through between the same without breaking, and of suflcient firmness to crush and disintegrate the lumps of dirt present with the beans.

20, 20, are two horizontal bridge-trees extending for ward of the main frame.

21 is a casing which is supported in an inclined position upon the bridge-trees 20, 20, by the spring uprights 22. Across the upper part of this casing is arranged the grading sieve 23. Within the casing is the diagonal grading sieve 24 extending forwardly, and the floor 25 which is a blank surface. This casing 21, carrying the sieves, is vibrated by the eccentric 26, mounted on the shaft 27 and its connecting-rod 28, journaled in the floor 25 of the casing 21. The shaft 27 receives its motion from the main shaft 16, by means of the belt 29.

The beans, pods, stones and crushed dirt falling from between the rubber rollers 12 and 13, strike the upper vibrating inclined grading sieve 23. All the beans, the dirt and stones which are not of a greater size than the kbeans, are shaken through this sieve 23 onto the vdiagonal sieve 24, immediately4 below the same. The remaining or larger foreign material tails off the front end of such sieve 23. "The beans and small stones in. their forward passage along the diagonal sieve 24 are separated from the crushed dirt, which passes down through the sieve 24 upon the inclined blank floor 25 of the casing, such dirt tailing off its rear end.

30, 31, are two inclined rollers journaled in the frame, on which is mounted the endless carrier 32, which has a transverse motion from left to right across the machine, in a downwardly inclined plane.

33 is an inclined shaft journaled in the frame and parallel with the rollers 30 and 3 1. The forward end of this shaft 33 carries the bevel-gear 34, which intermeshes with the bevel-gearA 35 on the main shaft 16, from which it receives its motion. The opposite or lowerv end of shaft 33 has the sprocket-wheel 36. The roller 31 has the sprocket-wheel 37. The sprocketchain 38 engages the two sprocket-wheels 36 and 37 and communicates a rotary motion to the roller 31, which causes the endless carrier to revolve. The rollers 30 and 31 have their forward ends in swiveled bearings 39, 39, which are adjustable in the length of the endless carrier, for tightening the same. The opposite ends of these rollers SOand 31 are also carried by swi`v' eled bearings adjustable in the length of the endless carrier for tightening the same, and are adjustable as to height, so thatthe forward side of the endless carrier may be raised or lowered as desired. This construction is shown more in detail in Figs. 5 and `6, in which 41 is a plate riding in the groove 42, in the upright posts of the frame, the plate carrying the bearings 40 and adjustable vertically by means of the bolt 43 and nut 44. The bolt 45 passes through plate 41 and through the slot 46, to take up and hold by means of the jam-nut 47, the slack of the endless carrier.

48 is a plate provided on its upper surface with a series of spaced pins 49.

A rake 52 provided with under and upper teeth 53 and 53, is pivoted at its rear end to one of the posts 1, its free forward end being adapted for adjustable engagement with the pins 49, on the plate 48. The spaces between the teeth 53 of the rake, are equal to the openings in the upper sieve 23 in the casing 21. The rake is reversible and can be separately employed for different grades of beans. n

The beans and round and flat stones that tail off the lower end of the sieve 24 fall upon the endless carrier 32, which is preferably of canvas and has a continuous movement in a transverse direction to the path of the beans. The carrier being inclined, as shown, at an angle which forms, practically, a continuation of the grade of the sieve 24, permits the beans and round stones to roll down across its width, onto the inclined table 55, provided with the side guide-walls 5G, 56. The flat stones and split beans lie close to the surface of the endless carrier and are moved to the right, out of the path of the rolling beans and round stones. They pass easily between the teeth of the rake 52 and in this manner are effectively separated from the beans and round stones and tail off the right-hand end of the carrier into the apron 57 and down and out through the discharge -spout 58. The adjustable brush 59 having contact with the under portion of the endless carrier, thoroughly cleans the same, so that the downcoming beans and round stones meet, at all times, an unobstructed surface to roll across. The rake 52 serves to dislodge and separate any of the good beans which may have dropped in front of and are being carried along with a flat stone or split bean, and in such manner these beans, which otherwise would tail off into the waste apron 57, are directed into their proper channel and saved.

The beans and round stones are assisted in their travel down the inclined table 55, by a drag, which consists of the two blades or sweeps 60, 60, secured to the sprocket-chains 61, 61, and so arranged on such chains as to alternately sweep the table clear of the beans and round stones. The sprocket-chains 61, 61, travel around sprocket-wheels mounted on the two shafts 62, 62. These round stones are now the only foreign substances which are to be removed from the beans and their separation is accomplished by the following means and in the following manner, G3 is a v fan-blower which is operated from the main shaft 16 by the belt 64. From this fan-blower, the tapering blast-passage 65 extends in an upwardly inclined direction to the lower edge of the table 55, the under wall of such passage extending up beyond the plane of such table, as at 66, see Fig. 1, and into the semi-cylindrical transverse perforated hood 67. The separation of the round stones from the beans takes place as they leave the table 55. At that point they are met by a blast of air from the fan, which rushes up the passage 65 with an intensity just sufficient to carry the beans up and over the extended end 66 of the passage and into the hood 67. The round stones being too heavy to travel with the blast, fall into the blast-passage 65,

down which they roll and are carried out through thc' discharge-spout 68.

The hood 67 is perforated to permit the escape of the surplus air which otherwise would interfere with its effective operation. The intensity of the blast can be quickly and accurately regulated by the adjustable slide 69. The blast grain separator, just described, forms the subject-matter of a separate application No. 237128, filed December 16th. 1904.

The separated beans which are projected into the hood 67 pass down the spout 70 and are discharged into one end of the cylindrical chamber 71, the inner cylindrical wall of which is a continuous hollow brush, being thickly lined with Tampico bristles, as at 72. In this hollow cylindrical brush the filial operation on the beans, that of cleaning and polishing the same, is effected. Upon a central shaft 73, is arranged the spiral conveyer 74 consisting of a helical brush, which serves to convey the beans, as they enter from the chute 70, to the opposite end of the cylindrical brush.

The above construction constitutesthe grain scouring mechanism which is specifically covered in a separate application filed May 11th., 1905. Ser. No. 259930.

The shaft 75 carrying the spiral brush conveyer 74, receives its motion through belt 78, from the main shaft 16 and a sprocket-chain 79, from shaft 73 to shaft 62, see Fig. 4, gives a rotary motion to the drag 60, 61.

Referring to Fig. 3, it will be seen that I have secured to the upper end of rake 52, a block 80, which is adapted for raising contact with a knob 81 on the endless carrier, the effect being that, at intervals, the rake is automatically raised to clear the same of accumulations of flat stones and split beans.

rIfhe feed roller l7 with its circumferential grooves and gates (not herein shown) forms the subject-matter of a separate application filed May 11th., 1905. Ser. No. 259929.

I claim.

1. A machine of the character described, comprising a bean cleaning mechanism composed of elastic dirt-crushing rollers, vibrating grading sieves, an endless carrier moving across the path of the beans, a pivoted adjustable rake operating at one end of the endless carrier and means for intermittently raising the pivoted rake, all for removing the pods, dirt, fiat stones and split beans, all combined and operating substantially as shown and described.

2. A machine of the character described, comprising a bean cleaning mechanism composed of elastic dirt-crushing rollers, vibrating grading sieves, an endless carrier moving across the path of the beans, a pivoted adjustable rake operating at one end of the endless carrier, means for inter mittently raising the pivoted rake and a cleaning brush underneath the endless carrier, all for removing the pods, dirt, flat stones and split beans, all combined und operating as and for the purpose stated.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification', in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT A. LITTLE. Witnesses ELMER T. ANsoN, W. CL. MILLER. 

